Rifts and Changes

Chapter Seventeen: "You can't apologise enough for third degree burns." or "Girls are frickin stupid!"

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or any of its characters and properties. I also do not own anything/anyone that I make a cultural reference to in this story. I do however own the characters that I created, even though their templates are people I know

A/N: I am soooo sorry this took so long. Words cannot express my regret! I had the biggest writer's block I've ever had ever! I tried to make this chapter extra long…anyways, I hope you enjoy it!


"Now is not the time for one of your smartass quips Remy." CJ said. "We've got to get the kids to safety."

"Somehow, I don't think that will be one of your main concerns." Anthius said. "Attack!" The 25 Tocopheran soldiers ran inside the Capsule Corps building, ready to annihilate anything that moved. Unfortunately for them, they had underestimated the Z-senshi a great deal. Gohan knew that Medilan would never send his most capable fighters (Dimethic and Thelia) away from his side. He also knew that when it came to hand to hand combat, nobody was better than a student of the Kame-sennin fighting style.

"Hold that thought boys." Krillin said, as he powered up a Kamehameha and blasted at least half the soldiers back into the front garden.

"Woah!" Daniel and Adrian said, in amazement.

"I need to get Bulma some medical help, now!" Vegeta yelled, in anger.

"We're working on clearing a path Vegeta, give us a minute." Tien said, fighting two guards. He disposed of them quickly enough, but…

"Okay, is it just me or do they seem to keep growing in numbers?" Marron said.

"DAMN IT! I NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!" Vegeta yelled, once again.

"They are growing in numbers." Claudia pointed out. "See, every time Mr Krillin blasts one of them with those energy blast thingies, they split in two and…well, I think you know where I'm going with this."

"Yeah, they're feeding off the chi blasts." Piccolo said.

"Chi blasts huh?" #18 said, as she rolled up her sleeves. "Sorry boys, this looks like women's work."

"Okay, I think we need to make room first!" Chi-Chi said.

"No worries, I'll take it outside." #18 smirked. She created a vacuum of air that pushed all the soldiers, including Anthius, out onto the front garden. She then carried out a one woman assault on the soldiers, switching from hand-to-hand combat and blasts.

"Dude, your mom's awesome!" Daniel exclaimed.

"Indeed she is." Marron smiled.

"I can't take this anymore." Bra said, cracking her knuckles and joining #18 in the fight.

"Should we really let her do that?" Piccolo asked.

"Are you going to tell her that she can't?" Launch (the good one) said, watching through her fingers.

"Good point."

"I think we're almost done here." #18 said.

"Not quite." Anthius said, grabbing her head in his hand. "You're the android, correct? So, if I leave you out in the rain, you'd rust right? Or if I punch a hole straight through your head, you'd still be alive right? Running around like a headless chicken!"

"We can hit him with chi blasts, right?" Krillin said.

"Yes." Goku responded.

"Good." Krillin said, powering up another Kamehameha and firing it straight at Anthius. Fortunately, it gave #18 enough time to get out of his grip. Unfortunately, it hardly hurt him.

"Don't you guys get it? Four super Saiyans couldn't handle me! What makes you think you second stringers can!" Anthius said, laughing maniacally.

"Allow us to give you a demonstration." Piccolo said.

Back on Tocopherat…

"Gohan, are you sure this is the right course of action?" Nicholas asked.

"'Right course of action'? What are you, Spock or something?" Trunks smirked.

"Nicholas, don't you think this whole my-wife-doesn't-have-the-power-to-take-care-of-herself thing is getting old?" Gohan asked. Nicholas blinked.

"You called me by my full first name." Nicholas said. "Did I do something to offend you?"

"You didn't hear a word I said, did you?" Gohan said. Nicholas just stared at him. Gohan sighed. "She will be fine."

"Nuh uh!"

"Yeah huh!"

"Nuh uh!"

"Yeah huh!"

"So Zophen, you still worried about leaving the fate of the world in my brother's hands?" Goten grinned.

"Please Goten, this is not the time to be making jokes." Zophen said, sweat-dropping.

"How come you call everyone 'Mr' except me?" Goten asked.

"Where the hell did that come from?" Zophen exclaimed very loudly. Everyone stared at him as Zophen blushed in embarrassment.

"I see Vegeta's mannerisms have rubbed off on him." Andrea said.

"Leave Zophen alone Uncle Goten!" Pan cried.

"Natalie has Yamcha and David to look out for her in case anything goes wrong." Gohan said.

"That is not what I'm worried about!" Nicholas cried. "There are tons of young men out there for her to eyeball!"

"I beg your pardon?" Gohan said, looking at Nicholas in disbelief.

"You heard me!"

"Well, yes I did. I just wanted to make sure that you didn't say it by mistake."

"Don't mock my real concerns Gohan!"

"Real concerns? Natalie is first of all, married to you. Second of all, she is a grown woman."

"Not anymore! Not since that wizard guy zapped us back into zit-faced, hormonally driven teenagers!"

"Nick, you've never had a zit in your life and you're always hormonally driven." Gohan sighed.

"What!"

"Yes, it's one of your quirks. But we love you for your quirks, so don't worry darling." Andrea smirked.

"What are ya, hitting on me or something!" Nicholas asked. Andrea started to laugh loudly, with reckless abandon. "My self-esteem is crashing Gohan."

"You were never like this when you were seventeen, man." Gohan said. "You were more hyper, and putting in cultural references everywhere."

"Well, the two hysterical ones are on lookout with Yamcha. Someone's got to fill the void." Nicholas said, returning to a calm state.

"Riiight." Gohan said, leaving Nicholas to go to the other room.

"Drake!" Nicholas said. "Go and check on the princess."

"What the heck do I gotta do that for!" Drake said, annoyed. "She's sitting right over there!" The Princess was sitting about ten feet away from Drake.

"Cos I said so, that's why."

"You know, you're only doing this to re-establish a sense of control. You're abusing your status as my father."

"And you're giving me lip."

"We don't even speak the same language. What am I supposed to do, hand signal to her?"

"Well you act smart, time to prove it!"

"You're being so lame."

"Rubber and Glue Drake my boy."

"I can't believe we're having this conversation." Drake sighed.

"This doesn't happen often?" Trunks asked.

"No, it happens all the time. I just thought since we're in MORTAL DANGER he'd let up a bit."

"Uh huh." Trunks said, sweat-dropping.

"If it is such a bother for you to check on my wellbeing, then do not bother. I have no need or want for it. I would also like to point out that not one person asked me if I even wanted to be 'checked up on' in the first place." The Princess said, before storming off.

"I guess royal snooty-ness is universal." Nicholas said.

"She has no idea where she's storming off to." Andrea said.

"Poor girl." Pan said. "She must be so embarrassed."

"FINE! I'LL GO!" Drake said, trying to catch up with her.

"Hey, how come she understood what we said?" Goten asked.

"I asked Inerl to use his sorcery to make sure there was no language barrier between any of us." The Elder said, quietly sipping what he called "Tocopheran Style Tea".

"How come you never mentioned this before Drake and Nick insulted her?" Gohan asked.

"I did not think it was relevant."

"Well, well, well. Gandalf is certainly a crafty bastard!" Trunks said, also sipping some tea.

About a mile away from the castle…

"Gah! This is so frickin boring!" David sighed.

"I agree. We should be out there, hitting stuff." Yamcha said, annoyed.

"Guys, I'm here to gather intelligence." Natalie said, obviously annoyed with both of them.

"Then why the heck are we here?" Yamcha asked.

"You got me. But with the return of Badass-Gohan, I'm sure not gonna question him." Natalie said. "Gohan said that he wants us to find out when Medilan is next gonna make a public appearance."

"Why?" Yamcha asked.

"Like I said, I didn't question why." Natalie said. "Dave, could you put these listening devices in Medilan's quarters without being seen?"

"Done and done." David said. Natalie noticed the equipment had disappeared from her hands.

"Nice job." She smiled, putting the ear piece in.

"Don't we get to listen?" David pouted.

"No, sorry!" Natalie replied.

"You know, even when we were kids, you were never good at sharing anything." David said snidely.

"Shh, shh! I can hear them talking!" Natalie said.

Inside the castle…

"Well, sir, congratulations is in order." Dimetic said, as he dined with Mara and Medilan.

"Oh, and why is that?" Medilan asked.

"You've finally overthrown the monarchy that got your father killed. I assume that's a reason to celebrate."

"Dimethic, early celebrations of victory are signs of overconfidence. We still have to gain the public's full trust and loyalty. We also must destroy the off-worlders."

"I see. My apologies."

"I agree with Dimethic. I think it's weird you aren't celebrating." Mara said. Medilan gave her a death glare, which she returned threefold.

"That is not what I said at all Mara!" Dimethic exclaimed.

"Ah. My apologies to you then." Mara said, wiping her mouth with her napkin. "If you'll excuse me, I have finished my dinner." She left.

"Your hold on her is weakening Dimethic." Medilan said.

"The arrival of her husband is making it harder. If I push her any harder, she'll become a vegetable."

"And that's bad?"

"Captain!"

"Dimethic. She is a means to our end. We were going to kill her in the end. You know that. She is a descendant of the true royal family of this planet. I want to rule this planet. She's in my way, so she dies."

"But…"

"Please don't tell me you've developed feelings for her!" Medilan chuckled. Dimethic stayed silent. "Ah, how very sad. Dimethic, your love for her is superficial. Besides, she's a married woman. You'd never have a chance."

"Yes sir." Dimethic's face darkened.

"Back to business. Is the conference room available for tomorrow?"

"Unfortunately, the conference room is not big enough to house the amount of people you want there. There is room in the Ketsiz stadium."

"That will do. Make the arrangements. I want all press and media outlets there, as well as our distinguished guests."

"Yes sir."

"Any word on…?"

"No trace of them. It seems they've gone underground, taking the Prince and Princess with them."

"I see. Very well." Medilan said, also leaving the table.

"I'm beginning to lose sight of the benefits for working for this man." Dimethic sighed.

Back to outside the castle…

"HOLY FREAKIN' CRAP!" Natalie cried.

"Not good news then?" David sneered. She proceeded to slap him upside the head. "Ow!"

"Good news; I got the information Gohan wanted. Bad news; Videl's in much more danger than we realised unless that Dimethic S.O.B. decides to grow a pair between now and tomorrow." Natalie said, very panicked. "Dave!"

"On it!" David said, bringing back the equipment.

"Okay, let's go. MOVE!" Natalie said, as the three of them ran back. They needed to get to a certain spot before Natalie could transport them back.

"I'm very confused." Yamcha said.

"It tends to happen a lot around Natalie. It's a telepath thing." David whispered.

"Am I going to need to-OOF!" Natalie cried as she fell on the floor.

"Oof? That's a new one." David said. He looked up and saw she had run straight into one of Medilan's guards. "Aw boogers."

"Don't worry, I can take care of this." Yamcha said, getting into a fighting stance.

"Do!" Natalie said, clutching her nose.

"Do?" Yamcha asked.

"Dose ouchie!" Natalie said. "Gohad said do fightid!"

"Then what do you propose we do?"

"Hey! Do not ignore us!" The guard said, as he prepped his laser gun.

"Nat! Foreign words! Laser gun!" David exclaimed in panic.

"OKAY!" She said, as she put her hands in front of his face. "You do dot rebeber a thing! Got it?"

"I do not remember a thing!"

"You will go back to duty."

"I will go back to duty."

"You will slap David upside the head."

"Okay." The guard did as he was told, and then left them. (1)

"What the heck was that for?" David yelled.

"For bockid be!" Natalie yelled back.

"Can you blame me? Look how easy you're making it for me!"

"Um, guys? We're here." Yamcha said, sweat dropping.

"Good." Natalie said.

"I can't tell, are you saying 'goon', or 'good'?"

"SHUDDAP!"

Somewhere, in the good guys' hideout…

"Crap. Her dress was so big I didn't think she could run so fast!" Drake said, running after her. "Hey stop! I want to apologise!"

"Really?" The Princess said, as she stopped and waited for Drake to catch up.

"No. But I couldn't think of any other way to get you to stop." Drake said, catching his breath and flashing a cheesy grin. The princess did not look impressed.

"You could have asked me." The princess said, as she pulled a pillow out from hammerspace and sat down. Drake blinked and sat down next to her.

"I did."

"No, you demanded that I stop. You did not ask, and you did not refer to me by name."

"I don't know your name." Drake said. The princess opened her mouth but couldn't think of anything to say. She folded her arms, obviously annoyed.

"Well, then you could've addressed me as 'Princess'."

"But I'm not from this planet, ergo, you're not my princess." Drake was secretly enjoying annoying her like this.

"…Why must you be so audacious?" She sighed.

"Can't help it. It's in my genetics."

"How awful for you."

"I was being sarcastic."

"I believe I was too."

"Huh. I didn't know royalty could do sarcasm." Drake said, amused. "So, what is your name?"

"Gina."

"Gina. Really?"

"It is an abbreviation of my real name."

"Oh. Can you…?"

"It is at least seven syllables long and in an accent you could not pronounce."

"Ah." Drake said, twiddling his thumbs. He turned away to avoid eye contact with her. "Gina's nice."

"Thank you." Gina said, taken aback slightly. They both sat there avoiding eye contact with each other until Drake broke the silence.

"Should we get back now?"

"I suppose. I do not want my father to worry about me. He has enough things to worry about." She sighed.

"Hey, I'm sorry about your Grandpa." Drake said, finally turning to face her.

"You do not need to apologise. You did not kill him." She said with a straight face. Drake sweat-dropped slightly.

"Yeah, but…well, it's an Earth thing. We say we're sorry that someone died, because it's a loss. You know?"

"I see. Your race is far more polite than I had realised."

"No race is perfect Gina. Everybody's got their good and bad guys."

"Like Medilan." She said, her face darkening. Drake decided to change the subject.

"Were you close to your Grandpa?"

"Not really. He was always too afraid to get close to anyone really. Especially since my Grandmother died so young. He was convinced it was a rebel plot, so that he would only have one heir to his throne. He always said 'fewer targets make it easier for them to get rid of us'."

"Woah, definitely not Grandpa material. They're supposed to be stern but cool or nice, cuddly and loaded."

"In some way, I suppose he is at peace now. Away from all the suspicions and paranoia."

"Don't be sad Gina. We will get Medilan for this."

"Yes, because you did such a brilliant job before!"

"Okay, I think you're showing off with your newfound ability to be sarcastic." Drake said, frowning.

"I…I am…" She tried to apologise but Drake put up his hand.

"It's okay."

"Do you really think everything will be okay?"

"Yes." He said, looking straight into her eyes.

"How can you be so confident?"

"Cos we're the good guys. No matter how long it takes, and even though we may have great tragedy along the way, we always triumph."

"That is a very comforting saying."

"Yep. My parents are good at the comforting thing." Drake said, edging closer to Gina. She blushed as he leaned in to kiss her but they were interrupted.

"OH HELL NO!" A voice shrieked.

"Let me see: inappropriate exclamation, annoyingly shrill voice and extremely bad timing. All answers point to Pan!" Drake cried, putting his hands through his hair. He noticed that Gina was gone, pillow and all. "I hope she didn't run off again."

"This is so like you Drake!" Pan cried.

"Yes, comforting damsels in distress is one of the many things I am famous for!" Drake said, staring down at her.

"That's not what I meant you narcissistic twit!"

"Woah, name calling already? What the hell tweaked you?"

"NOTHING TWEAKED ME! I DON'T THINK IT'S FAIR THAT YOU GET TO HAVE A ROMANCE WHILE WE'RE HERE TRYING TO SAVE MY MOM!"

"Uh…huh. And all your flirting with Zophen was about what exactly?"

"…"

"I thought as much. You're just jealous that Zophen doesn't have the same feelings you do and you want to take it out of me cos you know I won't dish back whatever you give me."

"…"

"This speechless Pan stuff is most wonderful!" Drake grinned. "And may I just say being a narcissist means I love myself. For the record, I don't. I am aware of my good qualities but that's just arrogance. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a princess to find." Drake left Pan standing there speechless.

"I swear, one day, I'm gonna kill that boy." Pan seethed.

Back on Earth…

"A toast! To our wonderful selves!" Krillin said, laughing loudly as everyone knocked back a glass of cola. Krillin was currently standing on top of a titanium steel cage that was holding Anthius and Hamelis. They had decided to keep them both in the same place to avoid any further communication with Tocopherat. "Chi-Chi called, Bulma's doing fine. Vegeta's pretty much collapsed, but he's fine too." The kids were ushered inside to have their own mini celebration.

"I haven't fought like that in a while, it felt good." Tien said.

"Indeed." Piccolo agreed. "I don't think this beverage is agreeing with me though." He put the cola down, and opted for a glass of water instead.

"CJ, you alright?" Remy asked, sitting next to CJ.

"I'm fine. I just think this celebration is a bit premature."

"Geez, you can be such a cynic."

"Maybe so. But Alex's presence worries me."

"How do you mean?"

"If he's here, trouble's not far behind." CJ said. "Even if everything goes well, and everyone comes back safely from that planet, I don't think that's gonna be the end of it."

"Lighten up, will ya? The good guys always win!"

"This isn't a comic book."

"I know that. No one here is half as good looking as Nightwing (2) is presumed to be."

"Remy!"

"I'm kidding. In all seriousness, the good guys will win this."

"How'd you figure?"

"Universal balance. Not a single thing has gone our way so far, so we've gotta win in the end!"

"That doesn't instil me with great confidence." CJ sighed. "So, what's the story between you and Alex?" Remy spit out her cola.

"THERE IS NO STORY!"

"Uh huh."

"You're just getting revenge for all the ribbing we gave you and Goten!"

"Maybe…"

"DAMN YOU!"

Back the hideout…

"Gohan, I'm feeling a bit nervous that you haven't told us the plan yet." Uubu said.

"There's a reason for that. I'm sorry, but…" Gohan paused, and then smiled. "Don't worry. Everything will be fine, trust me."

"When you smile like that, you look a lot like your father." Uubu said.

"Really?" Gohan blushed in embarrassment. "My, that's quite a compliment!" Before they could continue their conversation, Yamcha, David and Natalie appeared in the living room.

"EBERGEDCY!" Natalie screamed at the top of her lungs. Everyone who wasn't already there, came running in.

"What? What is it!" Inerl said.

"Bedilan's havidg a beetidg of-OOF!" Natalie said. She had been tackled to the floor by Nicholas.

"Oh ewww." Drake said, covering his eyes.

"She seems to like finishing her sentences with OOF a lot." David smirked.

"Shut up you moron!" Natalie said. "Ah, you clicked my nose back into place. Thanks honey."

"You're welcome!" Nicholas grinned.

"Now, can ya get off of me?"

"Do I gotta?"

"DO IT!"

"Hai!" Nicholas said, as he jumped up and hid behind Gohan. Natalie proceeded to tell the others what she had heard Medilan say.

"It's just as I expected." Gohan said. "He claimed this whole thing was revenge for his father, I don't think that's the case. I'm starting to think this whole thing was a set up from the beginning."

"Even his father's death?" The elder asked.

"It's possible." Gohan said grimly.

"I cannot believe it. He has deceived us for so long!" Prince Rofen said, his fists angrily shaking at his sides.

"The conference is tomorrow. Inerl, we're going to need some Tocopheran clothes to blend in." Gohan said.

"How many of us are going Gohan?" Andrea asked.

"Obviously, the prince and princess are going to have to stay here. I think it's safest if the elder stays too." Gohan said, deep in thought. "This place is well hidden, so I don't think that anyone will find you…but I still think someone needs to stay here and protect them."

"I'll do it Gohan." Yamcha said.

"Thank you." Gohan said. "Everyone get some rest. We leave for the castle early in the morning."

"Gohan, don't you think you ought to let us in on the plan?" Andrea asked. Gohan sweat-dropped.

"Not yet." Gohan replied, and laughed nervously.

"Not yet!" David exclaimed.

"See, he's usually the hysterical one." Nicholas explained to Zophen. "So now, I can go back to being my relaxed self."

"I see." Zophen said, nodding understandingly.

"Whaddaya mean, not yet Gohan!" David cried. "We're going in there, trying to overthrow this guy and save your wife, and you won't even let us know what we're supposed to do!"

"You're not supposed to do anything. Not yet." Gohan said, calmly.

"If you say that again, I'm gonna pop you one." David said.

"Calm down sweetie." Andrea said. "I've gotta agree with Dave. Why won't you tell us what we're supposed to do?"

"Yeah, what if I torch some guy I'm not supposed to? You can't apologise enough for third degree burns." Drake said.

"Um…" Gohan started to sweat-drop.

"ENOUGH!" Natalie said. "Gohan knows what he's doing. If we don't gotta know, then we don't gotta know and that's the end of it!"

"But…!" David started to say.

"Park it!" Natalie yelled, and David sat down.

"Nat…" Gohan said, surprised.

"Don't look so surprised Gohan. I trust ya, and so does everyone else." Natalie said, giving Gohan the thumbs up. Gohan smiled.

Next morning…

"This land vehicle should get you there undetected." Inerl said. "Good luck. Our future lies with you, Son Gohan."

"Yeah G, no pressure." Nicholas grinned.

"I need to speak to you." The Princess said to Drake, pulling him by the arm.

"Hey, I can walk on my own!" Drake said. Pan sighed as she watched them.

"Is everything alright Miss Pan?" Zophen asked.

"No, it's not."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I can't. Not with you." Pan sighed. Zophen was hit with realisation.

"Miss Pan, if I have somehow confused you with my actions, I apologise. I did not mean to give you false hope." Zophen said.

"It's not your fault Zophen. It's just a silly crush. I'll get over it." Pan sighed. "It's just that…Drake gets the adventure romance and I don't! It makes me feel like I'm not desirable. Which then makes me feel bad, cos I'm worrying about that instead of worrying about my mom."

"You are worried about your mother, I know that much." Zophen smiled. "And you are not undesirable Miss Pan. My lack of interest, as it were, is probably because of my age. I'm afraid that despite my appearance, I am probably older than your father."

"Woah."

"Indeed."

"Is…is there someone else?"

"There is."

"Ah. I feel so stupid."

"Don't please. I am very flattered that such an honest, sweet girl would feel that way about me."

"Different time, different place and all that."

"Huh?"

"Never mind, it's an Earth thing."

"Ah, I see." Zophen said, smiling.

"Girls are fricking stupid." Drake said, as he sat down in the vehicle.

"What happened?" Goten asked.

"When you go back to the castle, could you pick up my favourite outfit for me?" Drake mocked in a high pitched voice. "Geez."

"Welcome to the world of men, my friend." Trunks smirked.

At the Ketsiz Stadium…

"Preparations are ready sir, you go on the air in five minutes." Medilan nodded and the assistant left the room.

"Are the two of you ready?" Medilan asked.

"We're going on air with you?" Mara asked.

"Of course. I do not usually admit things like this, but I couldn't have done this without your help. I want to share the glory. As long as I'm still in charge."

"Yes sir. We'll join you in a minute." Dimethic said. Medilan left. "Well, that was certainly surprising."

"Indeed. I'm interested to see where this is going to go." Mara said, looking at herself in a mirror.

"So, are you still interested in all this?" Dimethic asked. Mara smirked and kissed him.

"Especially in this."

"Oh my."

"Come on, we'd better go before the boss busts our chops." Mara said, dragging him along to the main arena. There was a long table with three seats on top of a stage. The arena had hundreds of seats which had already filled up. Dimethic and Mara took their designated seats next to Medilan.

Elsewhere in the Ketsiz stadium…

"Gohan, these Tocopheran clothes are itchy." David said.

"Be quiet." Gohan said. "We're here now. Okay, Medilan's gonna start his speech pretty soon. When he does, I want you guys to cover me. Dave and Nat, get the civilians as far away from the desk as possible. Uubu, I want you to try and take either Videl or Dimethic. Everyone else, damage control. They've obviously got guards stashed somewhere."

"Hai!" They all said in hushed voices.

"People of Tocopherat, I apologise that it has taken me so long to talk to you since the tragedy struck. The King was a very close friend of mine and I needed time to grieve and collect myself." Medilan said.

"Lying git!" Drake said.

"You have heard reports that Prince Rofen was the perpetrator in this crime. We do not know that for sure, but he is a prime suspect. However, with the royal family either dead or unaccounted for, I have been asked to take charge of the kingly duties until a suitable replacement can be found. I hope that you can all understand the severity of the situation, and accept this as the status quo for the moment." Medilan said.

"I'm going in. Get ready guys." Gohan said, as he disappeared from sight.

"Good luck Daddy." Pan whispered.

"Of course, I will not be alone. My two soldiers, Dimethic and Mara, will be at my side. They'll make sure I don't misbehave." Medilan said, the crowd laughed.

"I don't see what's so funny; a man is dead because of you." Gohan said.

"What is the meaning of this?" Medilan realised he was in the spotlight, and couldn't do anything about Gohan himself. He signalled to the guards to come and take care of Gohan, but of course Gohan had a back up plan. Andrea had flung all the guards far away from Medilan. Dimethic and Mara were about to get up but Medilan signalled for them to sit. "Dimethic, just try and shut his mind down. We need to look like we don't resort to violence at the first sign of trouble."

"Yes sir." Dimethic said.

"Medilan Sterylin, your people have been deceived. They should know the truth. And so should you." Gohan said, clearing his throat. "Your right hand man Dimethic has the power of mind manipulation. He has been manipulating you into doing his bidding. That girl is not a Tocopheran solider called Mara. She is my wife, her name is Videl and he took her from me. I've been here trying to get back and fighting against you, believing that you were at fault. But it was really him."

"Do you honestly think that I would allow him to do that to me? That my mind is so feeble? You are talking nonsense!" Medilan said.

"He used the death of your father to make you hate me." Gohan said. "He used that anger to make you think you were doing what was best for your planet. He made you kill the King." Gasps and whispers could be heard throughout the crowd. "I was there. I saw the whole thing. I took the royal family into hiding until I could get to you to make you understand."

"Okay, what the hell is Gohan doing? None of that stuff is true!" David cried.

"Have a little faith. He knows what he's doing." Uubu said.

"This is all nonsense." Medilan said. "I demand that you leave immediately."

"Sir, if he believes this to be true. It will get you out of the clear!" Dimethic said.

"What?"

"Let me take the blame. I am willing to sacrifice that much for you." Dimethic said, as he walked towards Gohan. "You are right, Son Gohan. This was all my doing. I wanted to rule this world as I saw fit. Medilan was the perfect choice to use as a front man."

"Did he just call me a front man?" Medilan said, eyebrow twitching.

"Oh my, he's gonna crack." Mara said, looking very bored.

"I must admit, you had me stumped for quite a while." Gohan said. "Using this highly respected man was an excellent strategy. I also figured out why you took my wife, because she can freeze time. This way, you could just freeze Medilan any time he snapped out of your trance."

"Um. Yeah. Sure. That's exactly what happened." Dimethic said.

"Impressive." Gohan said. "But how long were you planning this? I mean, it must've been years and years of all your hard work! And to wait that long, most men would've given up!"

"Oh, I can't take this anymore." Medilan said, as he shot a blast at Dimethic and Gohan. "He's the genius! Don't be absurd. There's no way I'm gonna let this little sapling take all the credit for my work! NO WAY!" Everyone in the hall gasped.

"Ara, he snapped." Natalie said, looking through her fingers at what was going on.

"Ohhh, I get what's going on." Nicholas grinned. "Seinfeld, you magnificent bastard!" (3)

"Huh?" Goten asked.

"He knew Medilan had a big ego, and would never let Dimethic take the credit for all his hard work. It works to Gohan's advantage cos everyone on this planet is watching the broadcast." Andrea said.

"Oh." Goten said.

"I'm honestly very surprised that worked." Drake said.

"Dimethic!" Mara said, running over to him. Dimethic had not had enough time to prepare himself and took on Medilan's full attack. He had been gravely injured. She looked him over with concern. Gohan watched her angrily.

"Hey, Saiyan boy. Your fight is over here." Medilan said, throwing a blast at Gohan.

"Crap!" Gohan said, dodging it.

"Dimethic, please be okay." Mara said.

"I wish that concern in your eyes for me was real. It'd make dying easier." Dimethic said.

"What do you mean? My feelings are real."

"No, they're not. I made you into Mara. You are really Son Videl." Dimethic said. "It's time I let you go back to who you were." His eyes closed. He was dead. Mara clutched her head in pain and collapsed.

"Crap! Dave, grab Videl. Drake, cover him." Nicholas said. "Everybody, we've got to get this stadium cleared.

"Allow me." Zophen said. He closed his eyes, and created a gust of wind that carried everyone out safely.

"Ya know, that could've been mighty useful earlier." Nicholas said.

"Oh God…!" Mara said. David had brought her back to the group.

"Mama?" Pan asked, afraid to go near her. Tears started streaming down Mara's cheeks rapidly.

"Oh God…I remember! Everything I did to you! It was so horrible! I almost killed my baby! My husband! My friends and family!"

"She's back!" Natalie grinned. "GOHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN! VIDEL'S BACK!"

"WHAT!" Medilan cried.

"That's exactly the good news I was waiting to here." Gohan said, as he connected a hard left to Medilan's jaw. "Time to get down to business."

To Be Continued…

Yes, I know. Evil cliffhanger. The good news is the next chapter shouldn't be far behind! It should, hopefully, be the last chapter. Everything will be wrapped up and answered. Byee!

(1) A spoof on the Jedi mind trick. Yeah.

(2) I may have mentioned Nightwing before, but I don't think he's gotten a cultural reference stamp. Nightwing is a character from DC Comics. His name is Richard Grayson, but everyone calls him Dick. He was the first one to have the mantle of Robin, but left that mantle behind to become Nightwing. He has a HUGE fangirl following. He's like the bishi of the comic world, lol.

(3) This is one of the most famous quotes from the sitcom Seinfeld. I couldn't work out how to fit in "you stole my jesus fish" lol.